i love you
by MischiefManaged1916
Summary: there are ways to say "i love you." without saying those words out loud. "Do you need any help with that?" "How was your day?" "You should take a break—you work too hard." "You were right." "Call me when you get home."
1. i love you

"Get away from me!" Clary screeched from across the room, hurt evident in her voice.

Jace couldn't even remember what they were fighting about, but one thing had led to another, and they were both yelling awful things. Things they didn't mean but yelled anyway, just in an attempt to hurt the other.

Clary backed up, nearing the front door of their shared apartment, and shakily opened the door handle.

Jace could see her resolve crumbling. He could see the tears threatening to spill over her cheeks, but knew she would never let them fall. Not when he was standing right in front of her.

"I-I need to go. I… yeah," She turned and fled the house. Jace made a move toward the door and slipped through the threshold.

"Clary!" He called, watching as her small form ran down the stairs and disappeared through the front door of the apartment building they lived in.

Jace sighed and walked slowly back to the apartment. He ran a hand through his hair and closed the door with a click. Jace left it unlocked though. He didn't see clary grab her keys, and he wanted to make sure that she could get back in.

He sat heavily on the couch and picked up a book. It was something Clary had left lying around, full of drawn images and textboxes. His eyes scanned over the words and pictures, though his mind didn't process anything. When he looked up again, it was dark outside, and the time on his phone read 7:00.

 _She's probably just going to spend the night at the Institute, or maybe with her mom_ , Jace thought. Though, that didn't stop the pang of concern from going through him.

He flipped open his phone and sent a text:

To Clary-

 _Hey. I'm sorry about everything earlier. You know I don't mean what I said. I'm sorry. J._

Jace decided that he should call around, just to make sure she's alright.

He knew that Clary could take care of herself, but even after all these years he still could shake the image of the short, fire-tempered mundie girl he fell in love with. Every time she went out alone he had this feeling she might never come back, and that scared him more than anything else in the world.

After various conversations to the lightwoods, Clary's mom, Luke, and Magnus, Jace was starting to really worry. Where else would she have gone?

He threw a jacket over his shoulder, and headed to the door. When he stepped outside Jace stopped short.

Clary was lying on the floor, her body huddled up in a ball and leaning against the wall. Jace sighed in relief that she was okay.

Leaning down to gently lift up her sleeping form, Jace pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, walking them both back into the apartment and softly closing the door.

* * *

It was late. Maybe 1:00am? Alec wasn't sure. He hadn't thought about the time all day.

Him and Magnus had spent the whole day together, and had both left their phones on silent in the kitchen.

It had been so long since they had been alone together, and when Alec had stopped by unexpectedly in the morning with coffee and breakfast, Magnus had refused to let him leave.

"Stay, Alexander. It's been so long," The warlock had said. Alec had thought he looked way too good at eight in the morning. A glitter-free face, and unstyled hair had left him looking relatively normal for once in awhile.

They had eaten bagels and drank warm coffee in the pale winter light of Magnus' kitchen. Chairman Meow had been sitting happily on the plush carpet, and the high warlock's slit eyes had been glittering with happiness.

Alec could picture living like that. Never having to leave.

He could picture waking up in the bright colored bed Magnus adored, and slowly getting dressed under the sharp eye of his warlock. Leisurely walking down to the small cafè down the street and ordering breakfast. Talking about what they wanted to do that day. And then, when the day had ended, and the sun had long since set, they would both lie down and slowly drift off to sleep. The way Alec had wanted to for so long.

When breakfast had disappeared, they still sat, chatting about the past few days and what each had done.

Later on, Magnus had suggesting they go out and see the sun. Alec had thought that maybe a walk through the park might be a good idea, and they had both bundled up in warm coats and thick scarves to ward of the biting wind, before heading out the door.

Magnus had kept the steady chatter going through the whole walk, and Alec continuously pointed out nice scenes that dotted the public area. Small children held hands and ran around trees, and it made Alec wish that adults didn't have to grow up and think it weird. He took Magnus' hand in light of that, and smiled.

The rest of their day had been spent in small bistros and quaint shops. Warm mugs of coffee, and the pleasant look of Magnus without any fancy hairdos or extreme glittering accessories.

When they had finally returned home, it was still early, and Alec had suggested they watch a movie. Something that he never got the chance to do with his shadowhunter upbringing.

Movies were something that they never had the luxury of watching, as Hodge had always thought their time was better spent memorizing runes and demons and battle techniques.

When Alec had mentioned this, Magnus took it upon himself to order chinese food and line up a stack of movies that Alec "absolutely must watch".

When they were well into their third movie, Alec had found that his eyes were slipping shut for longer and longer periods of time. When Magnus had noticed, he pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, and whispered, "Sleep, Alexander. I'll still be here when you wake,"

He must have been sleeping for quite a while, however, because when he woke, there was pale light streaming through curtains and he was tucked up under a pile of neon blankets in his warlock's bed, being held very close by Magnus Bane.

* * *

Izzy's long hair was tickling his nose. She had pulled it up and out of her face a few hours ago. Simon thought it was halfway through Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

Now, she was sound asleep and tucked under his arm. Her face was cleared of makeup, and she was swallowed in Simon's grey hoodie.

Every few moments, Simon had to look down and remind himself that this was not a whole big dream. That this badass girl who was sitting curled up next to him was his.

He wanted this moment to last forever. Isabelle didn't let in many people, and Simon couldn't help but feel incredibly lucky that he go to be one of those people. Felt incredibly lucky that she trusted him. That Izzy let him in when she found herself crying over the loss of Max. When she had no makeup on and was lying on her bed in sweats.

"Mhm, Simon. What time is it?" She mumbled, her face pressed against his chest.

"About 11. I should probably be heading home soon," He said, thinking that his mother might start to worry if he didn't show.

"Do you have to leave?"

"Sorry, Iz. You know I do," She sat up from under him and began to get everything ready for him to leave.

"Alright. Just… text me when you get home?" She peered at him from under thick lashes, concern for his well-being clear in her eyes.

"Of course. You know you don't need to worry about me anymore, though," he gave her a hug, and felt her warmth seep into him.

Isabelle walked over to the door, and led him outside. She shivered in the sudden cold, and rubbed her arms against the wind.

"Go back inside, Izzy, it's freezing out here," Simon said, he pressed his lips to hers for a moment, before heading out of the Institute and hailing a cab.

When the driver had dropped him off in front of his house, he walked quickly up the steps and locked the door behind him.

Flipping open his phone, he sent a text.

To Izzy-

 _I'm not home. Home is where you are. ;)_

From Izzy-

 _Loser. I'll see you tomorrow_

* * *

 _ **hey :) so this was a collection of short little… things that my sleep deprived brain thought up. my thoughts for this was ways to say "i love you." without saying those words out loud. hope you all enjoyed it!**_

 _ **-mischiefmanaged1916**_


	2. je t'aime

Jace was woken from his sleep from a small whimper coming from the bathroom. His head snapped up as he realized that Clary was no longer snuggled next to him in bed, and was instead making small noises from their connected bathroom.

"Clary?" Jace called, knocking on the door. "Are you okay?" She didn't open the door, and Jace wondered how long would be acceptable until he broke it down. "Clary, come on, please." The sounds of her being sick filled the dead silence for a moment before Jace pounded on the door again, no doubt waking the others in the rooms nearby. Another minute passed before Jace heard the shuffled sounds of his girlfriend moving toward the locked door.

As the door swung open, he saw her face was pale and shivers racked her small form. "By the Angel, Clary. Why didn't you wake me?"

He reached down to feel her forehead, and pulled his hand back when he felt the heat radiating from her. "You looked tired,"She mumbled, her words slurred from exhaustion.

"Come on, Clare… let's get back to bed okay?" Jace scanned her face for confirmation that it was okay to move before reaching down to lift her shaking form into his arms. Clary's head lolled back to rest against his bare shoulder, allowing him to truly feel the extent of her clear fever.

Despite the heat of Clary's forehead, she shook as Jace laid her down gently in their bed and covered her in the pile of blankets that had been previously shoved to the bottom of the mattress.

His fiery-haired girlfriend blindly reached out to him in an attempt to keep him closer to her, but he pulled back, "I'll be right back, Clary. I just need to get a few things from the bathroom,"

Jace softly pressed a kiss to her forehead before heading the bathroom to run cool water on a cloth and to pick up some fever-reducing tablets.

When he came back into the room, and had coaxed the medication into his girlfriend, he placed the cloth across her head, before pulling over one of the chairs and sitting next to the bed.

Briefly Jace wondered if he should retrieve his stele from the side table, but whenever he or the Lightwoods got sick, they never used runes and that made him wary to try on Clary.

As Clary fell back into an unrestful sleep, he took her hand, focusing on her face.

When she slept it made her face seems childlike again. After all the things that they had been through, her eyes reflected a sort of burden that Jace wished he could lift. Sometimes he thought back to that young girl he had first seen in that club, and he wished he could go back to those times. The times when they weren't burdened by their history. And then Jace thought back to all the memories that would take away, and he knew that he would never give those up.

He watched her sleep through the night, periodically checking her steady fever and insuring that her breaths remained steady. He knew this was only a small illness. A cold at best, the flu at worst, but he couldn't let go of his fear that someday something might happen and he would no longer have Clary by his side.

When she awoke the next morning, groaning of a headache and coughing fitfully, Jace confined her to the bed.

"You can't force me to stay here all day, Jace."

"Well, you can't very well move from the bed without my help, so I think I can."

This was true. When Clary had first moved to get out of the bed that morning, she found that her legs had become weak and useless as a newborn fawn, and she had almost fallen over had Jace not moved under her to keep Clary upright.

Jace gave her a knowing look, but Clary just blinked up at him, playing innocent. "I think that today might have to be a stay in bed day, Clare," He helped her back into bed, and pulled the covers over her.

Clary sent him a half hearted glare, not truly angry but keeping the act anyway. "Oh please," he laughed, a light sound that made Clary grin, "You know you love me,"

She pulled his face down to hers, running her fingers through his golden curls, and pressing her lips to his.

"That I do,"

 _Hey guys!_

 _It's been a minute. Anyway, this is pretty short but I wanted to get something up because I missed writing and finals are kicking my butt. Lol. I really should be studying and i'll try to post something next weekend when finals are done :)_

 _-MischiefManaged1961_


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